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9. I warned you about how stupid John might be.
10. Suddenly I heard a muted sound of a gunshot.
11. This weather is so unusual for this time of the year.
12. I am not going to add a cent to your monthly pocket money!
13. “Stop hovering around without doing anything”, he said
smiling broadly.
14. He named lack of time as an excuse for his being late with the
project.
15. She has been begging him to stay.
III. Give as many synonyms as you can to the following words:
goofy, haughty, slender, sullen, feeble, freak, numb, plead, josh,
stunned, grin, peek, jaunty, furious.
IV. What active word is synonymous to:
1) stupid, silly, foolish;
2) mute, deaden;
3) torpid, dazed, paralyzed;
4) ask, beg;
5) overbearing, cocky, arrogant;
6) capricious, whimsical, strange, odd;
7) pocket money;
8) a silly mistake;
9) slim, spare, slight, narrow;
10) weak, infirm, sick, frail;
11) to give consideration to something;
12) play a trick, play a practical joke;
13) a broad smile;
14) gloomy, dark, obscure;
15) frantic, boisterous;
16) confident and happy;
17) very surprised and shocked;
18) upset, angry, and annoyed.
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V. Give corresponding English equivalents to the following:
1) немощный, слабосильный;
2) сознательный, осознанный, сознающий, здравый;
3) подшучивать, подтрунивать;
4) бестолковый, глупый, тупой;
5) закутывать, окутывать, заглушать;
6) онемелый, оцепенелый;
7) обращаться с просьбой, ходатайствовать;
8) болтаться без дела;
9) приводить в оправдание;
10) сделать скидку на что-то; делать снисхождение;
11) сносить с улыбкой;
12) каприз, причуда, чудачество;
13) стройный, тонкий, уз
14) ябедничать, доносить;
15) суетиться;
16) измениться к лучшему;
17) поднять тему (для обсуждения);
18) брать в расчёт, учитывать;
19) человек скромного достатка;
20) замкнутый, сердитый, мрачный, угрюмый;
21) взбешённый, неистовый;
22) из меня плохой танцор.
кий, скудный;
VII. Translate into English :
1.Она не унизилась до того, чтобы реагировать на его
высокомерие.
2. Моё тело онемело от холода, и я запаниковала.
3. Это специальное место для парковки фургонов.
4. Он угрюмо посмотрел на меня и протянул свои карманные
деньги.
5. Твои коллеги передают тебе привет.
6. Перестань шататься без дела.
7. Он не осознавал того, что причинял ей боль.
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8. Ей лишь оставалось сносить всё с улыбкой.
9. Он просто помешан на мерах предосторожности.
10. Необходимо сделать скидку на то, что она ещё очень молода.
11. Стив был обескуражен: из дома доносилась веселая мело-
дия, хотя он ожидал увидеть спокойствие и полное смирение.
12. Больной как бы нечаянно заглянул в рецепт врача и был
сильно уд
ивлен.
VIII. Explain the following phrases and word combinations.
Are they formal or informal? Make up short situations to show
their use in a context.
1) it wasn’t much of a kiss
2) to trail off (about a voice)
3) to be goofy about
4) to take a turn for the worse/better
5) to push the door open
6) to send one’s regards
7) to be a stuck-up
8) to tell somebody on somebody
9) to bring up the subject
10) to make fuss about something
11) to snap the book shut
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1. Speak about Jumpy. What kind of person was he? What was
special about him?
2. Speak about the “kiss” deal from the point of view of all the
three characters. Do you think the narrator did the right thing? Why?
3. Which emotions did you experience while reading the story?
Cite those portions of the text that made you feel this way.
4. Why would the narrator include this episode into his
autobiography?
5. Which repercussions might it have in his subsequent life?
6. Why is the story called The Quiet Heart?
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TEXT 2
LIMITED SEATING ON BROADWAY
by J. Hockenberry
John Hockenberry (1956—) is a news reporter who has covered stories
ranging from the eruption of Mount St. Helens to the Persian Gulf War as a
correspondent of National Public Radio. He is also a wheelchair-bound
paraplegic, paralyzed since the age of nineteen as the result of an automobile
accident when he was a student at the University of Chicago. Eventually a
music major at the University of Oregon, Hockenberry began his journalistic
career at an NPR affiliate in Eugene. In 1992 he joined ABC television’s
newsmagazine “Day One,” becoming the first—and only—network reporter
to appear in a wheelchair. He now reports for NBC’s Dateline. A fierce
advocate of strict enforcement of laws that protect the disabled, Hockenberry
has said; “For the struggles I’ve gone through to mean something, I have to
be an activist.” His book “Moving Violations: War Zones, Wheelchairs, and
Declarations of Independence” (1995) chronicles some of his battles. In the
following opinion piece, written for the “New York Times” op-ed page in
1992, Hockenberry describes his outrage at being denied access to a
Broadway theater. He later sued the theater, and under the terms of the
settlement, its owners installed a lift to allow wheelchair access.
The show at the Virginia Theater, “Jelly’s Last Jam,” is in
previews, and even though tickets are $60 for orchestra seats (the only
option for patrons in wheelchairs), the price was a minor impediment
to the prospect of an evening of Jelly Roll Morton’s jazz.
The art community in New York City has a reputation for being
progressive. It is the forum and agent for challenging America’s
hardened perceptions about race, politics, class, gender, religion and,
more recently, AIDS and homophobia. In particular, the theater world
likes to think of itself as a seeker of such challenges and is proudest
when a play or musical becomes a vehicle for change.
I thought of this two Saturdays ago as I sat at the top of some stairs
in the Virginia Theater waiting to be helped into my seat. Because the
Virginia, like virtually all Broadway theaters, refuses to take orders
for wheelchair tickets over the phone, except for purchases well in
advance, I had to make a special trip to the box office the day before
to buy my ticket.
At the box office, I was told that a ticket was available but that I
would have to sit far from my friend. I was told the house manager
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would seat me when I arrived. Here again, minor hassles well worth
bearing on the way to an evening of good theater.
But that didn’t happen. Two minutes before curtain time the house
manager emerged from a white door with a copy of the theater’s
“Policy for Disabled Patrons.” He abruptly told me to leave the
theater. I was shocked and asked why. He asked if I could walk,
something I thought was fairly clear when I had bought the ticket the
day before. He mentioned stairs for the first time and noted that since I
could not walk and had not brought my own crew with me that it was
impossible to seat me. I said that there was no problem and that I
would show him how to get me up the stairs with the help of the usher
standing next to him.
He said in a loud voice audible to everyone around us: “Sir, we are
not allowed to touch you. Our staff is not allowed to do that.” I
reminded him that my friend had already taken her seat at the
suggestion of the usher and would react with some alarm if she saw
my seat empty after the show began. “I’m sorry, sir, you’ll have to
leave,” was his only response.
Having had many close calls with the inaccessible infrastructure of
the world, I still could not believe I would not be able to see the show.
I recalled an incident some years before at the Hakawati Theater in
East Jerusalem when four fellow patrons and the playwright, all
strangers, helped me up 12 stairs to see a puppet show. They
demanded that I be carried even when I was doubtful.
The theatergoers at the Virginia eyed me with the detached, craven
interest that New Yorkers reserve for the white chalk outline of a
corpse at a crime scene. “You are a fire hazard, sir,” the manager
insisted. Only moments before I had been a component of his cash
flow. I grabbed his collar and told him what he could do with his
Policy for Disabled Patrons. I was easily overpowered and ushered,
the only ushering I would experience that night, to the 52d Street
sidewalk.
I sat powerless and humiliated; all dressed up, nowhere to go. Of
course, the Virginia Theater staff probably thought differently. They
might recall a rude, angry man trying to get rules bent in his favor. But
outside, it seemed as if I was the only one who thought that a few
stairs shouldn’t stand in the way of seeing a play. Certainly there was
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no one to complain to about the lack of ramps. There was no meaning
to the incident at all.
The Virginia Theater was not my first such encounter with New
York City’s art community. Some months ago on 10th Avenue I tried
to empty a bottle of urine I had carried for 40 blocks. In the absence of
any public restroom I rolled into a dirty parking lot to pour out the jar
in a discreet corner. Two attendants with all the righteousness of
crusaders grabbed me and threw me out of my chair and onto the
sidewalk as people walked by.
Not long after the event I learned that a proposal for handicapped-
accessible public restrooms on city streets was opposed by the Public
Art Commission, which had determined that the structures would be
too ugly. (Uglier even than public defecation, and heaven knows the
arts community knows best about that.)
Artists might shrink from taking blame for the insensitive acts of
12 architects, producers and theater owners. But as society’s voice of
protest, are artists to be excused for ignoring discrimination that hasn’t
yet made it to Broadway?
Maybe if I was an artist who daringly confronted whole flights of
13 stairs in front of a paying audience and who carried around bottles
of urine just to make a point about society I might keep from wetting
my pants and, better yet, get to see “Jelly’s Last Jam.” But then that
wouldn’t be honest. Art and theater are nothing if not honest.
CULTURAL ASSOCIATIONS
Look up the following entries in the Dictionary of U. S. Life and
Culture («Жизнь и культура США: Лингвострановедческий
словарь») or other dictionaries and encyclopedias:
Mount St. Helens
Persian Gulf War
ABC television
NBC television
The New York Times
Broadway
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COMPREHENSION CHECK
1. Summarize the information about John Hockenberry in your
own words.
2. What kind of reputation does the New York City art community
have? Why?
3. What “minor hassles” did John endure before the actual
performance and why?
4. Was the house manager helpful? Why did he show the copy of
the theater’s “Policy for Disabled Patrons”?
5. Why did the manager and the ushers treat John in the way they
did?
6. What kind of impression did John produce on the theatergoers?
7. How did John feel not being able to see the show he had been
dreaming of?
8. What other encounters with the New York art community does
the author recall?
9. Comment on the last paragraph of the story.
ADDITIONAL VOCABULARY
wheelchair (n) — a chair with wheels, used by people who cannot
walk: wheelchair-bound; wheelchair-user (preferable); special
parking for wheelchair users
outrage (n) — a feeling of great anger and shock: a sense of moral
outrage; outrage at/over; public/popular outrage
to be denied access
access (n) — the right to enter a place, use something, see
someone, etc.
impediment (n) — a physical problem that makes speaking, hearing,
or moving difficult: a speech impediment
detached interest
detached (adj) — not reacting to or becoming involved in
something in an emotional way: detached from; detached
way/manner. Antonym: involved
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to bend the rules — slightly break the rules: I think we can bend the
rule on this occasion.
righteousness (n) — feeling of being morally blameless, having the
right cause
to shrink (shrank, shrunk) from — to avoid doing something
difficult or unpleasant: He shrank from the thought of having to
steal.
take the blame
blame (n) -— responsibility for a mistake or for something bad
EXERCISES
I. Translate the following sentences into Russian paying
attention to the active vocabulary:
1. He’ll be in a wheelchair for the rest of his life.
2. Lynn has been confined to a wheelchair for the last year.
3. Such injuries can cause permanent paralysis.
4. The response to the jury’s verdict was one of outrage.
5. The case generated public outrage.
6. Access to the papers is restricted to senior management.
7. Cats should always have access to fresh, clean water.
8. A speech impediment did nothing to stop him from preaching.
9. Another impediment arose during a second round of testing.
10. Try to take a more detached view.
11. He appeared totally detached from the horrific nature of his
crimes.
12. She described what had happened in a cold and detached
manner.
13. I’ll try and get the housing department to bend the rules for us.
14. The state government was willing to bend the rules where
necessary in order to create more jobs.
15. No matter how good and righteous you think your cause is, you
cannot break the law.
16. The leadership too often shrinks from hard decisions.
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17. Do you accept any blame for what happened?
18. You can’t expect Terry to take all the blame.
19. I always get the blame for his mistakes!
20. She stole the money but she’s trying to put the blame on me.
21. There was no safety barrier, but the court ruled that the child’s
parents must share the blame for the accident.
22. We are not here to apportion blame.
23. It’s no use trying to shift the blame onto other people.
24. In my opinion, the blame lies with the police.
II. Translate the following sentences into English paying attention
to the active vocabulary:
1. После аварии он был навсегда прикован к инвалидному
креслу.
2. К сожалению, водитель автобуса так и не признал свою
вину.
3. Пешеходы часто нарушают правила дорожного движения,
что вызывает справедливый гнев автоинспекторов.
4. Детям вход в магазин запрещен.
5. У него сложности с речью, но он научился общаться с по-
мощью рук.
6. На его лице читался отстраненный интерес к происходя-
щему.
III. Give corresponding Russian equivalents to the following:
1) minor impediment
2) take orders by phone
3) box office
4) usher
5) house manager
6) curtain time
7) crew
8) to react with some alarm
9) inaccessible infrastructure
10) puppet show
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11) detached craven interest
12) fire hazard
13) cash flow
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1. The author of the story is clearly angry. For whom does he
reserve his greatest anger? Why? Do you share his indignation?
2. What changes does he feel must be made before disabled people
can participate fully in American society? Do you think he has a basic
right to expect or even to demand such accommodations?
3. The author is a well-educated while male with a prestigious job,
and he is ready to pay $60 for a theater ticket. Would you argue that,
despite his physical disability, he has achieved the American Dream?
Or has part of the dream nevertheless eluded him?
4. How do you think should the attitude towards people with
disabilities be changed in Russia?
TEXT 3
PEOPLE WHO HAVE COGNITIVE DISABILITIES:
A POPULATION-AT-RISK
Mental retardation, or cognitive disability, is a condition
characterized by intellectual functioning that is significantly below
average and accompanying deficits in adaptive functioning, both of
which occurred before age 18. Here we will refer to people with
mental retardation as people with cognitive disabilities. Note two
important points: First, the term cognitive disability has a less negative
connotation than that of mental retardation. Second, it is important to
refer to people with cognitive disabilities as people before referring to
any disability they might have. For example, referring to them as
mentally or cognitively challenged people tends to emphasize the
disability because the disability is stated first. Our intent simply is to
respect their right to equality and dignity.
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